Snow Flower and the Secret Fan movie trailer

Welcome to a new feature here at Historical Tapestry - From Ink to Screen.

Really it's just a chance for us to post about movies that are coming out soon or we have already seen that are based on historical fiction novels.

First up, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

I love Lisa See's books so it was such a thrill to see that a movie is being made of her book. I have to say though, the trailer didn't really do a lot for me, particularly due to the introduction of a modern storyline. I will make an effort to watch it in the hope that it will capture some of the magic of the book.




What do you think of the trailer?

Peony in Love by Lisa See

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production:
“Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

I am going to have to be honest, when I started this book I was not sure if I was going to like it. I even put it down for a few days, but I picked it back up today and did not put it back down again (willingly) until I finished it. In many ways it is hard to compare this book to Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. They take place in different time periods, but at the core they are stories of women facing adverse circumstances in society. A common theme in both books is writing, and expressing themselves in words. In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, the girls express themselves through the writings on a fan. Peony in Love is predominately about a piece of writing and how it inspires women to write.

The aspect of the book that I was not sure about at first is that the main character of the novel dies and then continues to narrate the story as a ghost. I was not sure if that was not going to get a bit corny, but Lisa See carried it off very well. She has written a very lyrical novel that easily expresses the connection that the Chinese had with the afterworld. This novel is very much about love, like the title tells us, but that is not all that is happening here. In China at this time, many women were never taught to write. People did not like the fact that Peony could write because it was not a 'womanly' thing to do. Some men were revolutionary, though, and believed that their wives should able to be educated.

The authors note at the end of the book explains how this is historical fiction and how Lisa See came up with the idea. The story is based on a real opera, The Peony Pavilion which was written by Tang Xianzu and set during the Song dynasty, but apparently that was not the period he was talking about. To learn more about the history of the opera and how it became important to See, you will have to read the book and author's note.

I think I liked this book because it touched on issues that are even still present in society. It is a novel about women rising up against the men in society and doing something for themselves. I think I could almost call it inspiring. And, I liked the afterworld idea after a while. I think it was interesting that the ancestors of those still living became characters in the book. You could even overlook the way that Peony died by the end because Lisa See made it look right. I think this book will touch the romantic in people. I am very happy that I read it. Many others like her other book better, but I think this just became my favourite.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Lily is haunted by memories-of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.

In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu ("women's writing"). Some girls were paired with laotongs, "old sames," in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives.

They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become "old sames" at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful.

With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.

Marg Says:

I really enjoyed this read. Set in a remote corner of China in the 1800s, we are given a glimpse into the lives of several different stratas of society - the humble farmer, a comfortably well off family that rents out the fields to the farmers around him, the socially unacceptable life of a butcher and the fading and disgraced aristocrats.

At the age of 7 Lily and Snow Flower were deemed to be "old sames' - signing a contract that says that they will be the closest of friends for all their lives. For Lily, Snow Flower is an exotic young girl, coming from a wealthy family and always wearing beautiful clothes, and yet, when the customary times for visiting each other, Snow Flower always visits Lily's family, never the other way around. For Snow Flower, her time at Lily's house is a chance for her to learn some of the basics of running a home, in anticipation of her marriage.

Going into the details of the rituals relating to foot binding, to the friendship ceremonies, to the marriage ceremonies and the traditions surrounding the changes in a woman's life after she is married, there was plenty of scope for infodump in this book, and yet, the author manages to convey details regarding these events in such a way as to provide the information, but within the structure of the story.

Most of all, this book is a look at the changing nature of a friendship between two women, particularly during the later days of their lives as one of the women grows into a role of leadership in her family and the other gets closer and closer to the edges of society. There were many moving moments, particularly as one of the characters realises that she was the one with the issues, and not the other way around!

A moving and entertaining read, featuring a time and place that I know very little about.

Kailana Says:

I have been trying lately to read more books set in areas outside my normal area. While I like historical fiction about China and Japan, there is not enough time to read everything that I want to read. This room was really good for a move into Chinese historical fiction. Lily is the narrator, and in these pages she recaps her life and her friendship with Snow Flower. Joined together in childhood, they were to be close friends for life. Lily came from a lower social class than Snow Flower, but through this friendship great things happen for her. Snow Flower is not all she seems, but they are friends for over 27 years.

Lily was an interesting narrator. She speaks of her life growing up in her mother and fathers' home. We get to experience the foot-binding process which was horrifying to read about. I could not imagine going through that and having the use of my feet limited for the rest of my life. Men's affections do not mean more to me than being able to walk correctly. Lily's younger sister actually dies from the process, as the book says 1 in 10 women do. It made me think of school, I remember learning about a Native group that it was not their feet that they bound but their heads, and then there are the cultures that try and make their necks longer. People in so many cultures are not satisfied with the bodies they are born with, they always have to do something to alter it.

Lily goes through a lot in her life, she lives to be 80. We share her friendship with Snow Flower, her feelings of abandonment in her own home, her perfect feet that helped her have a better life, war, marriage, babies, and old age. In such few pages a lot happens to a very interesting woman. All in all, this was a very interesting read. Lisa See has another book out now that takes place in 17th-century China. I look forward to reading that soon.

A very recommended read!